Last Days as a Day
by MyFictionalFavorites
Summary: What happened in the elevator after Nick and Jess reunited? What if they decided to get married, and soon? This story gives snapshots into their engagement period and wedding. Created for and dedicated to Cecilia095 for the Tumblr Secret Santa Exchange!
1. Tuesday, April 4

**_Tuesday, April 4, 2017_**

Jess thought she had forgotten what it was like to kiss Nick Miller. But then, in an instant, she realized it would take more than a thousand lifetimes for this feeling to be erased from her memory. It felt like every molecule in her body was sparkling. It felt like fiery passion ripping through her very soul. It felt like coming home.

They kissed in the elevator for what felt like forever but also no where near long enough, when Nick pulled his lips away, and gave a soft smile before leaning in so that they stood forehead to forehead. They stayed like that for a moment, not needing to say anything, just to be close.

After a few minutes, Jess breathed, "I love you, Nick Miller."

"I love you too, Jessica Day" Nick smiled back.

"Let's get married." The words tumbled out of Jess' mouth before she was even aware of what she was saying, but as soon as she realized it, she knew she didn't regret them. "Soon."

Nick's eyes widened. "Are you proposing?" he asked with an incredulous laugh.

"I guess I am." She replied. "So what do you say, Miller? Marry me?"

"Jess," Nick slightly shook his head. "I mean, of course I want to marry you, I'd marry you tonight, but this is all wrong. If anyone deserves the grandest proposal with all the flowers and candles and the pony, it's you. You deserve to have me down on one knee, saying your full name, even though your middle name is completely ridiculous, and opening the box with a sparkly ring inside so you can cry and that's the story we tell everyone for the rest of our lives. "

Jess scrunched up her nose. "Wait, why would there be a pony?"

"Okay, that's not the point. If anyone deserves the perfect proposal, it's you, Jess. And I don't even have a ring yet."

"Nick, I don't care. At one point in my life, I probably did care way too much about that, but right now I'm looking at the man I love, and I want to marry him as soon as possible because I want to show the whole world that Nick Miller is the only man for- "

Her words were cut off by Nick's mouth fervently pressed against her own, with a passion that instantly brought Jess back in time to their very first kiss over four years prior. How could she have ever thought she could find someone else more perfect for her than him? How could she have ever thought anyone else would love her as much as he did?

Nick pulled away. "Okay, twist my arm, I'll marry you," he teased.

"You brat." She countered back, feeling giddy.

Nick paused a moment. "You said soon. Did you mean soon as in, this year? This month? Tonight? I'll do anything you want, Jess, I want to show you off to the world too."

Jess thought for a moment. "You know, I guess I do want everyone there. Cece. The guys." She gasped. "Coach too! And my parents of course, and my sister! If she's not currently incarcerated, that is. Your mom should be there too. And I want a wedding dress. I don't even know where I want to buy it…or should I make one-"

"Jess! Jess, Jess, stop!" Nick tried to soothe her. "Shh. It doesn't have to be decided tonight. If we're not getting married tonight, then all I want right now is to go bed next to my smoking hot fiancée."

Jess couldn't stop the huge grin from coming across her face. "Wow, I really like the sound of that. Fiancee." Another quick peck. Now that she could kiss him again, she didn't think she would ever stop. She looked around for a moment and laughed. "Do you think we're the first people ever to get engaged in an elevator?"

Nick chuckled. "Oh, that reminds me…" In an instant, Nick slid one arm behind her back, the other behind her knees, and effortlessly picked her up into his arms. Jess gasped, surprised.

"What are you doing?"

"Let's not think about it." He whispered. Jess knew that this was the happiest she had ever felt in her entire life. He started walking toward Apartment 4D.

"Oh!" Jess exclaimed. Nick stopped. "Winston and Aly are still out there! Do you think I should go tell them that I'm not coming?"

"Nah, they'll figure it out."


	2. Wednesday, April 5

**_Wednesday, April 5, 2017_**

"I can't believe you were actually going to move out, Jess." Nick shook his head as he set his current load of items back in Jess' room. The two of them had spent the majority of their first day as an engaged couple moving all of Jess' belongings back into the loft. Winston and Aly had helped a little bit, while also complaining that they were already sore from spending the entire day yesterday loading all of it into the moving truck in the first place.

Jess sighed. "Nick, I was literally going out of my mind. I had spent the entire year crazy about you, and then I heard you say it was never going to happen and I just…" She trailed off, not even completely sure how to end that sentence. She had spent the last 16 hours in euphoric bliss, and was only now allowing herself to go back into that dark headspace of where she had been only a short time ago.

Nick looked into her eyes and saw pain, and it nearly shattered his heart right there. Last night they hadn't really talked about everything that had happened between them in the past year, but Nick knew in the back of his mind that her decision to move out was the culmination of a time of a lot of hurt. "Jess-" he began.

"No, really, Nick, we don't need to talk about it. Everything worked out." She smiled, a small one but Nick knew it was genuine. "Better than I could have imagined. "

Still, Nick walked over to where she was standing, and took both her hands in his. He looked down, absent-mindedly interlocking his fingers with hers. "Jess, I'm so sorry. I was out of my mind too. I…" He trailed off, searching his brain for some kind of explanation that could make sense for his behavior but coming up empty. "I guess, I never thought you would want to try again with me. I didn't think I could be worthy of you again, so I didn't even let myself consider the possibility that it could happen. But the fact that deep down I know something was going on with you and I never truly tried to figure out what it was, that you were hurting all year because of me, that's something I'm going to live with for the rest of my life."

Jess moved a hand up to his cheek. "Then it's a good thing you have the rest of your life to make it up to me," she teased with a smile. "I promise, Nick, if everything that happened to us has lead us to this moment right now, it was worth it."

Nick had no response for those words, other than to lean down and give her a soft kiss. Once again, Jess marveled at how a guy with such a tough exterior could possibly kiss so gently and tenderly.

Their kiss was interrupted by a knock on Jess' door, and Winston's voice came through from the other side. "Hey guys, there's something out here you should definitely see."

Puzzled, Jess looked at Nick, but then she rolled his eyes and said, "What are the odds that it's a new picture of him and Furguson because I'm thinking like…ninety-nine percent?"

Nick laughed, then gestured to the door. "After you."

Jess walked out of her room into the living room, before stopping short with a gasp. The lights were suddenly flipped off, but the glow of candles through the room revealed that the entire room was covered in wildflowers. Some in vases, some scattered around the floor. There must have been hundreds of them. An explosion of purple, pink, yellow, and red adorned the room. As she looked around, trying to memorize this sight, Jess noticed the heads of Winston, Aly, Schmidt, and Cece peeking in from the kitchen, each one beaming at her. She turned around to look at Nick, utterly speechless.

"I really tried to get the pony." He stated, a serious look on his face. "But would you believe no zoos would let me borrow one? Why are they so protective over a little pony? What did they think I was going to do with it? I told them it was for a proposal and they acted like nobody had even asked them for one before!"

"Focus, Nicholas!" Schmidt tried to disguise his words through a cough that came from the direction of the kitchen.

"Shut up, Schmidt!" Nick called, before turning his attention back to Jess, who was still silent. He grabbed her hands. "Jess, this is the proposal you deserve. Actually, you deserve even more than this, but this was all I could do early this morning without you suspecting anything. I'm actually amazed at how gullible you are, I mean, you actually believed that the line at the bakery for our breakfast was an hour and a half long? What, did you think a small village got in line right before me and cleaned out the store? Okay, I'm rambling again. Why am I so nervous, we're already engaged, right? This is so stupid."

"Nick." She interrupted him with a slight shake of her head, tears already shining in her eyes.

His name from her lips was all he needed to feel a wave of confidence wash over him. All of a sudden, he was Julius Pepperwood, and he knew what he needed to do to get his Jessica Night. Nick pulled a small box out of his pocket, and knelt down on one knee. "Jessica Christopher Day, I fell in love with you the moment you walked through the door, and I have never stopped. I want to do everything I can to make you happy for the rest of your life." He opened the box. "Will you marry me?"

The ring was absolutely beautiful, but Jess' teary eyes were only focused on the man kneeling in front of her. "Yes, Nick. Yes, I'll marry you."


	3. Later That Day

**_Later That Day_**

"To Nick and Jess, my best friend and my second best friend, getting married at long last!" toasted Schmidt, raising his glass.

"I'm third?" whispered Winston, looking dejected.

"Quiet, number four." Schmidt murmured, then louder, "To Nick and Jess!"

"To Nick and Jess!" Everyone repeated.

"Thanks everyone! I'm so glad we could all get together and celebrate." Jess beamed. Nick had suggested that everyone go out to a nice restaurant (Winston had said anywhere was fine except Picca), but Jess insisted that she just wanted everyone to get together at the Griffin.

"So let's start planning!" Cece set her sparkling cider down. "The baby is due Thanksgiving day, so are you thinking…Christmas wedding? Next spring? Summer?"

Jess and Nick silently exchanged knowing smiles.

Cece looked back and forth between them, confused. "Not next year? What, this fall? Oh my gosh I'm going to be a humungous bridesmaid..."

"I don't think that's going to be an problem, Cece," giggled Jess.

Everyone stared at Nick and Jess, looking puzzled. "Is Cece…not a bridesmaid?" asked Winston.

"I don't think that's the issue, Winston," Aly narrowed her eyes and stared Nick and Jess down. "When exactly is this wedding going to be?

Nick and Jess once again exchanged glances. "Tell them!" Nick urged her with a grin.

"Next week." Jess took a drink, trying to look casual.

"Next week?!" rang out four voices in unison.

"Friday." Jess added.

"Friday?!" Four voices again.

"Okay, you guys have got to stop doing that," Nick complained.

"Not even I can plan a perfect wedding in nine days, you buffoons!" cried Schmidt.

"Isn't that a little fast?" asked Cece.

"It's not soon enough," Nick stated, eyes never leaving Jess.

"Awwwww!" Four voices in harmony.

"Seriously, stop." Nick moved his eyes from Jess' in order to stare down them down.

"We want it to be really small and simple, but still have our best friends and immediate family there. We figured that's the absolute earliest we could do it but still have everyone make it. We've already called my parents, Nick's mom, and Coach. They said they're going to do everything they can do make it. "

"Hey, it's early enough that I'm not showing yet so I'm in." Cece joked. "But seriously, I guess that means I'm in full matron of honor mode as of this minute! So where's this wedding going to be held?"

Jess looked at Nick. "That's the part we haven't totally figured out yet. We thought the loft would be perfect since that's where we met and fell in love and all that-"

"But then you two thieves had to go and steal that idea," Nick muttered under his breath gesturing to Schmidt and Cece.

"Oh wow, I'm so sorry, Nick," started Schmidt, seemingly genuine. "You know, you could have been the first to use it, if it hadn't taken you FIFTEEN THOUSAND YEARS TO FINALLY PROPOSE TO HER!"

"You're a stinkin wedding thief and your hair looks absolutely preposterous right now!" Nick yelled back.

"It doesn't matter! It's doesn't matter!" Jess put both her hands up as if to hold back Nick and Schmidt, whose shouts were escalating. This got the two of them to calm down, as Jess continued. "We know we could do the loft, or even the roof was one idea we talked about, but I've been thinking about it more, Nick, and I do think I want a place that's just for us, different from Cece and Schmidt."

"No worries then, my bride, I've got another idea up my sleeve." Nick reassured her.

"What? You didn't tell me that!" Jess was surprised.

"Well I thought you really wanted to get married in the loft, but now that I know that's for sure off the table, I've got the perfectly back up spot for us." He took a drink.

Everyone stared expectantly at Nick. He stared back.

"What?!" He scowled.

"Aren't you going to tell us?" Aly urged.

"I'm not telling you all before I tell Jess first." He answered back as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. Everyone groaned.

Jess grabbed Nick's arm and lugged him over to the other side of the bar, out of earshot of the rest of the gang. "Spill, Miller!"

"Right now?"

"Yes!"

"Okay. You ready?" He rubbed his hands together, clearly excited. "The beach." He revealed with a twinkle in his eye.

"The beach?" Jess paused for a moment to think. "Yeah…the beach could be nice." She pondered the idea some more. "The beach. Sure. Let's do the beach." She nodded, smiling.

Nick studied her eyes for a moment, before looking down. "That's okay, Jess, you don't have to say that. You obviously don't love the idea."

"No, no, that's not true!" Jess insisted. "The beach sounds beautiful. I guess I've never thought of myself as a beach wedding person, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. Especially if it's important to you! I'm good with it. I promise."

"It's not that it's important to me, it's just a dumb idea I've had in my head for a little while now. "

"A little while now?" Jess questioned. "Like how long are we talking?"

"You know, like five years." He answered matter-of-factly with a shrug.

"Five years? What happened five years ago to make you think of that?"

Nick looked back down again. "That's how long ago my cancer scare was, remember that?" Jess nodded but stayed quiet. They had never talked about that night ever since it happened, and Jess was stunned that he was actually bringing it up.

"Remember how everyone stayed on the beach all night, before the ultrasound? The first part of that night is still super fuzzy since I was so high on those pain pills, but the first moment I can remember clearly is realizing you were laid out next to me, fast asleep. You were using my coat as a pillow, and I was glad that I was must have been something of a gentlemen, even when completely wasted." He gave a small chuckle, and Jess smiled. "I never slept the entire night. I was terrified that I had cancer, that I was going to die. I thought about my life, the things I had done so far, the things I wanted to do but was too afraid to. Then I started listing all the things I would do if I did was sick, if I only had a few months to live. Lots of ideas came to me. Sky diving. Eat my way out of a sandwich house. Go sled dog riding." He looked up and made eye contact with her for the first time since starting his story. "But you know what I decided was the number one, most important thing I wanted to do, Jess?"

"No." The words left her lips as a whisper.

He continued staring right in her eyes, right into her soul. "I wanted to marry you on that beach. That's what I wanted more than anything else. I looked down at you asleep next to me, and thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life. You were kind, and warm, and sexy. I pictured the whole thing. Me dressed in a suit. You walking down the beach to me in a pretty white dress. I wanted to marry someone I loved before I died. I wanted to marry you." He cleared his throat and looked down again. "I can't believe I just told you that. I never told anyone."

"Nick." Her voice cracked. "You already made me cry earlier today with your proposal; you're not supposed to do it again!" She started wiping away the streaks that were trailing down her cheeks.

"Sorry, honey." He gave a small smile as he used his thumb to help clear away the tears. They were quiet for a moment. "But then I didn't have cancer, and I went back to being typical Nick Miller, too afraid and too dumb to tell you how I really felt. But I never forgot it. I never forgot that image of you on the beach in a wedding dress."

Jess cleared her throat. "So get ready to see the real thing, Miller, because we're doing it."

"Jess, I promise I didn't tell that story to make you feel bad or pressure you into changing your mind. I want to get married wherever would make you the happiest."

"Nothing would make me happier than making that idea a reality. The beach it is. No arguments, mister," she commanded with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am. The beach it is." Nick repeated as he leaned in to capture her lips in his.


	4. Monday, April 10

_**Monday, April 10, 2017**_

Jess was too nervous to eat her breakfast. It was wedding dress shopping day. Jess was more than fine with such a short engagement; she really was. Her parents were going to fly down in a couple days. Nick's mom was also able to make it in time for their wedding on Friday. Jess still hadn't heard back from Abby but honestly she hadn't expected to. Knowing Abby, she'll probably show up the day of the wedding without any warning but fully expect to be maid of honor or something.

The one drawback of a short engagement that Jess actually cared about was the dress. She had always dreamed of finding the absolute perfect wedding dress, and if she couldn't find it in a store, she wanted to make it herself. Unfortunately, neither of those options was very realistic when your engagement is 10 days long. She had called every boutique within a 50 mile radius, but only one had an open appointment for her before the wedding date, and it was first thing this morning at 9:00 am sharp.

While Jess was trying to get a few bites of cereal down, her phone rang as Cece's face appeared on the screen. " _That's strange,"_ Jess thought to herself. " _She's supposed to meet me there in 30 minutes. Did she forget the address or something?"_

She answered the phone, "Hey Ceece, you need the address?"

"Jess," came the weak reply. "I am so sorry, but I don't think I can make it today. I guess morning sickness is finally hitting me today of all days."

"Oh no! Cece, that's terrible." Jess empathetically responded, then paused for a moment. "But, are you absolutely sure you can't make it? It's just, this is literally my one shot to pick out a wedding dress, and I can't imagine you not being there with me."

"Believe me, Jess, I want to be there too, more than you know, but if I go, it will be a scene straight out of Bridesmaids in that boutique, I promise you. I've been-" She stopped for a second and Jess heard the unmistakable sound of holding back a gag, "-throwing up all morning and I don't feel any better yet."

"Of course, of course you need to stay home. I'm so sorry you are feeling so awful. But hey, don't they say that's a good sign that your baby is healthy?" Jess asked, clinging to any positivity that she could find. "Do you need me to come help you?"

"No, Jess, you need to keep that appointment! I'll be okay, Schmidt's here and he's been taking good care of me."

"Okay that's good. Maybe if at all possible you can stay by your phone in case I send you any pictures?"

"Yes, I definitely can do that. Again, I'm really sorry, Jess. I know any dress you find will be beautiful on you."

Jess gave a sad smile. "Thanks Ceece. Feel better, okay? I'll check in with you later. Bye."

Jess hung up and set down her phone right as Nick walked into the room. "Hi, honey," he walked toward her while giving her a sleepy smile. "You ready to pick out the perfect Jessica Day dress?"

"Not anymore." She sighed, while Nick's face instantly became concerned. "Cece has morning sickness, and she can't come with me anymore so I have to go by myself."

"Oh that's rough, Jess, I'm sorry." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe I could come with you? I know I'm not supposed to see the dress before the wedding, but hey, we've pretty much thrown all traditions out the window already, right? What's one more?"

"Nick Miller really wants to come to a bridal shop and sit on a super fancy and probably uncomfortable couch and wait while I try on dress after dress after dress for two hours?"

He scrunched his nose. "Two hours?! That's can't be right! How long does it take to put on a dress? I've seen you do it in like two seconds!"

"Nick! Wedding dresses are very complex! Most of them have zippers, and lots of buttons, some even have corsets that you have to tie up. And I'm going to have to try on a lot of dresses to find the right one."

Nick stood wide-eyed for a moment, quiet as he seemed to be processing this brand new information. "So I'd be just sitting there while you get zipped and buttoned and corseted for two hours?"

"Yup."

He sighed. "Okay, let's go."

"You'd do that for me?"

He smiled. "I've told you before, Jess, I'd do anything for you. I'd sit and wait on an uncomfortable couch for two days if it meant you being happy."

With these words, she leaned in to give him a kiss, which he willingly returned, deepening it as wrapped one hand around her waist as the other ran through her hair.

She pulled away, but stayed close enough to put one hand on his cheek. "Nick, that's incredibly sweet of you to offer, but the truth is, this is one tradition that I do want to keep. I want the first time you see this dress to be when I walk toward you at the beach on our wedding day."

"Okay, honey, whatever you want." He agreed. "But I don't want you to go alone. Where's Aly? Or Winston? Apparently he was actually a big help to Cece when she picked out her dress, because he tells me that all the time."

"Winston and Aly both had early shifts this morning. And Schmidt's taking care of Cece at Jaipur Aviv. And even though I weirdly suspect that Outside Dave has good taste in wedding dresses, I'm not so sure that taking him to a nice boutique is really a good option."

"Definitely not. Well, I guess that's everybody. You sure about going alone?"

"It's definitely not my first choice, but I'll be fine. I guess this way, it can be a surprise to everybody." She looked at the clock. "Oh! I have to leave right now or I'll be late!" She gave a quick peck to Nick and grabbed her purse. "See you later, fiance!"

* * *

Jess walked toward the boutique, lost in her thoughts, when all of a sudden she bumped into someone standing right by the entrance. "Oh, excuse me, sir- Schmidt?! What are you doing here?!"

Schmidt smiled at her. "Surprise! Did you think we were going to let you do this alone?"

"But...," Jess began, flustered. "What about Cece? She needs you to take care of her!"

"Cece's okay," he reassured her. "I left her in bed with plenty of ginger ale and saltines. She was starting to fall asleep when I left anyway. She insisted I come with you, and I agreed. No one should go wedding dress shopping alone. Especially when you have such a fashion-forward visionary for a friend such as myself."

"You _are_ weirdly up on all the latest fashion trends for women," Jess rolled her eyes, then gave her friend a genuine smile. "Thanks, Schmidt."

He opened the door for her, and the two of them checked in at the front counter. It took a bit of explaining that no, Schmidt was not the groom, and no, he was not her brother, and no, he was not her gay best friend. Since the workers were aware of her time constraints, they led her straight to rack that contained the dresses that could be sold today. On this rack were about 25 dresses of various sizes and shapes. Some were too old and out of season; some had slight tears or damages. Jess and Schmidt (but more Schmidt than Jess) quickly eliminated the dresses that were way too big, had too many damages, or were the completely wrong style for Jess. ("What is this a dress for a retired birthday clown?! Does this one come with _pants?!_ ") They were left with 5 dresses for Jess to try on.

Number 1 was a no. The neckline went down way further than they expected and Schmidt remarked that this wedding was not a four dollar strip club. Number 2 was a probably not. It was mermaid-style, which Schmidt said went well with the beach setting, but Jess found it very uncomfortable. Number 3 was a maybe. It was three-quarter length sleeved and tea-length, neither of which were what Jess had in mind, but it was made of pretty lace, and it was definitely more comfortable than number 2. Number 4 was a definitely no. It wasn't until she put it on that she realized that what she thought were ruffles at the bottom were actually feathers, and Schmidt's solemn, one word, "No" definitely put an end to that one. So they were left with Number 5. Jess said a silent prayer to herself that she would put it on and absolutely love it. Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly the case. It was fine. A simple chiffon A-line with a nice beaded belt, but there was nothing extraordinary about it.

As she walked out of the changing room, she studied Schmidt's face, but all he did was stare back at the dress, with a contemplative look on his face. Neither spoke for a moment. Finally Jess couldn't stand it, "Well?"

He looked at her, then waited a beat. "What do you think of it, Jess?"

"I think it's pretty nice. It's comfortable. I like the belt. It's good."

"But you don't love it."

Jess sighed in frustration. "I don't love any of them, Schmidt! But this is all we've got. These are the only wedding dresses that I can have in time for my wedding. So it's either going to be this one, or the tea-length lace one. Which one do you think?"

"Neither of them is you, Jess. Neither of them is your perfect dress."

"I'm not going to have the perfect dress, Schmidt! One of these is going to be good enough, so please help me decide which one it is!"

Schmidt walked over to where she was standing, took both her hands in his, and looked directly into her eyes. "Good enough is not good enough for you, Jess. You deserve the best. You're the prize, remember?" He asked with a glimmer in his eye. "You're marrying my best friend, but, you're also my best friend too. And you deserve a dress you love."

Jess squeezed his hands in hers. "Thanks, Schmidt. That's so sweet of you. I just don't know where would would find another dress."

"Excuse me, good woman!" Schmidt called out. The boutique employee popped her head in the room. "Ooh, that one looks-"

"Quiet." Schmidt interrupted her. "I happen to know for a fact that these are not the only dresses you have that we can buy today, so I would like you to please go in the back and bring us the rest of the dresses you have."

The worker paused a moment. "Sir, I don't know where you are getting your information from, but these are the only off the rack dresses we have today."

Schmidt walked over to her. "Ma'am. Look at this woman." He gestured over to Jess. "This woman is one of the kindest and most selfless people you could ever meet in your life. And she's marrying the man who has been my best friend for over nearly half of 30 years. This woman deserves the most perfect dress in the world. And she hasn't found it yet. But I know, you have it somewhere here in the store. So please go back and bring us what you have, because we both know you have more."

The woman looked at Schmidt, then looked at Jess, then back at Schmidt. "I think we have a couple in the back that we are taking out of our inventory. Let me check." She walked out.

"What?!" Jess scream-whispered to Schmidt. "How did you know she had more dresses?!"

"I didn't!" Schmidt whispered excitedly back. "I was totally making that entire thing up!"

Schmidt and Jess laughed to themselves for a few minutes before the woman returned with two dresses in her hands. "Yeah, we're taking these out of inventory because nobody ever buys them…"

But neither Schmidt nor Jess was listening, because both of them were staring at the dress in the lady's right hand.

"Jess."

"I know. Let me try it on before we get too excited."

"Too late. I'm excited!"

"Shut up, Schmidt!"

"I've got a scream and nowhere to put it!"

"Can I try that one on, please?" Jess asked, gesturing to the right dress.

"Sure, but it's sample size so be warned that the sizing might not be exactly right."

When Jess put the dress on in the fitting room, she closed her eyes so she wouldn't even see it in the mirror. She was too afraid. She loved it so much from looking at it on the hanger that she was terrified that she wasn't going to like it on her. As she zipped it up, eyes still closed, she became aware that it fit her absolutely perfectly. " _No_ ," she thought to herself. " _Don't get too excited. There's no way it's this perfect._ "

"You ready, Schmidt?" She called out.

"Ready."

Eyes shut, she walked out of the changing room. She expected to hear a gasp, a shout, something, but heard nothing. "Well?"

"Oh, Jess" Wait, was Schmidt...crying?

She opened her eyes not to look in the mirror, but to look at Schmidt and saw his glistening eyes. "Schmidt! Stop crying! You're going to make me cry!" But the tears were already filling her eyes.

"Just look!" He shouted back.

Jess looked into the mirror. Never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined a more perfect dress. It was strapless, sweetheart neckline on a beautiful lace bodice. The full skirt was made up of several layers of tulle. The very bottom of the tulle layers were dyed different pastel colors: blue, purple, pink, green.

"Yeah, we didn't sell very many of these." The worker commented. "Most brides don't like the colors for their wedding day."

"Oh, she's colors." Schmidt stated, then shook his head slightly. "I mean, she's perfect for colors. I mean, if anyone should have a colorful wedding dress, it's Jessica Day. Jess, this is your dress."

Jess watched herself do a twirl in the mirror, and whispered back, "Yes, Schmidt. This is the dress."

* * *

 **Author's Note: My pick of a colored dress might be controversial, but I stumbled across a picture of one once that I thought seemed perfect for Jess, so that's what I based it on.**


End file.
